


New State New Start

by Levayden



Category: Original Work
Genre: Chapter updates will be slow, I'm not sure if I mentioned this in the first chapter but Cas moved from Georgia to California, Other, They all go to the same school, Well everyone but Ellen, i warned you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-05-05 03:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14607816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levayden/pseuds/Levayden
Summary: Cas is at the end of sixth grade when he finds out he is moving from a small town in Georgia to Southern California. he already knew he wasn't a typical guy and had struggled with that for a long time, but with this thrown into the mix he get's pissed off at his parents and decides we won't have California be like Georgia. He decided he won't be pushed around and made fun of. He will stand his ground and hopefully make some new friends. The thing is, he keeps up his walls so high no one will even try to break through them. Except for one person. They manage to make it through his walls as if they were never there in the first place. Cas manages to fall in love with this boy even if his body doesn't match his name. He thinks things are looking up until something turns his world more upside down than it has ever been before. With his home life and school life working against him, he manages to stick with his friends even if his walls slowly get higher every day that passes. The boy he fell in love with proves to him that love shouldn't be kept apart and that it's ok to be who he is, even if the world doesn't like it. That boy should know, he's dealt with this many times.Hope you like it!





	1. Accidental News is spilt

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first 'chapter' of the story, New State New Start. If you can figure out what Cas is doing with his thumb and index finger then wow, join the club. Hope you guys enjoy this 'chapter'.

“So, how was school Cas?” Mom asked as I shoved a bite of mashed potatoes in my mouth. I shrugged and swallowed my food.  
“It was good. P.E. sucked as always but Jake and I sat at the tables away from everyone cuz’ they were open. Other than that it was ok,” I said looking down at my plate. School wasn’t exactly my favorite place to be. The kids were jerks and I only had one friend. Jake, he was cool. Sure, he had some mental issues but they were from his parents.  
“So how’s Jake doing Cas?” Dad asked looking straight at me. I looked up at him, then down at my plate once more.  
“He’s good. Just stressed, typical school stuff,” I said eating more mashed potatoes. No one knew what Jake had to go through. His dad is an alcoholic and his mom follows his dad’s decisions sober or not. Jake sometimes comes over to our house sobbing, he says it’s bullies at school but we both know that’s far from it. He lives with his aunt right now, but he still has breakdowns sometimes if something triggers his anxiety. He misses school a lot because of that.  
“Everything ok with his aunt?” Mom asked, her voice soft and gentle. I shrugged.  
“I think so. He’s coming to school more now so that’s good,” The food on my plate was pushed into different piles and I scraped the bottom trying to separate them even further. Mom placed a hand on mine and I looked up at her. She looked down at my plate and at my hand. “Sorry.” I said and set my fork down. Having OCD wasn’t the easiest thing to live with. I’ve tried to get better but not a lot has changed.  
The room was oddly quiet as we finished dinner. Mom and Dad kept glancing at each other every so often. I cleared the table and started washing the dishes, one of my chores I did. As I washed the dishes I could hear them talking in the dining room.  
“Do you think we should tell him?” Mom said, her voice low and hushed.  
“We have to do it sooner rather than later,” Dad said.  
“Do you want to tell him?” She asked.  
“You want me to tell him that were moving to California-”  
“What?!” I screamed and dropped the plate in the sink. It shattered but I didn’t care. My stomach twisted in knots as I walked into the dining room. The color in Mom and Dad’s faces drained. “What do you mean we’re moving to California?!” I yelled, my index finger rubbing over my thumb over and over again.  
“Well, uh, Cas,” Mom said trying to get the words out of her mouth. “Honey, we’re moving to California. Your dad found a job that pays really good money and we thought you would be happy-”  
“Why would I be happy there! Jake is here! I grew up here! I am not just gonna ditch Jake when we’re going into seventh grade!” I screamed, my stomach tightened and my face felt hot and almost tingley.  
“Just take a deep breath Cas, you’re going to hyperventilate,” Dad said standing up from his chair.  
“No! Don’t come near me! I’m not going!” I screamed, tears formed in the corner of my eyes. Dad didn't listen. He started to walk towards me. “Dad! Go away! I don’t need you right now!” His face stayed neutral as he walked by Mom and was a few steps away from me. He reached out to put a hand on my shoulder but I sprinted away and over to the staircase. “Go away!” I screamed one final time before flying down the hallway and slamming the door shut. My breath was quick and I wasn’t able to slow it down. Instead of it slowing down, it came out ragged as I let tears slip out of my eyes. Sliding down onto the floor, I let the tears fall down my cheeks freely as I sobbed.  
I wanted to scream but I didn’t. My stomach twisted and a wave of hot, tingley heat ran over my body. I hated it so much, this feeling. It made me feel sick even though I felt it everyday at school.  
A couple minutes past of just sitting on the floor, back to the door, sobbing. My body felt hot and gross. Stripping myself of my clothes and putting on pj’s, I laid down in bed and tried to calm down but was unable to. My mind was spinning and my heart was racing. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This calmed me down just a bit. After a few minutes of laying in bed my body felt heavy and I let myself fall asleep.


	2. Cas get your butt up and start packing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay packing. Everyone likes packing right? Nope. Cas and his parents start to pack and he tells Jake he's moving. He surprisingly takes the information well, so far.
> 
> I suck at summaries just read the chapter to make sense of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp let's get this thing started. Also! I have never lives in Georgia so i'm not sure if there's an accent in certain places or if it's state wide. I just based the 'accents' in this on my family back east. So if you're from Georgia and I completely butchered the accent, my apologies! I only go there once every other year. My mom's family lives there so when we visit them i'm the one with the accent!

The next morning I woke up a few hours later than I usually do because of the front door constantly opening and shutting every five minutes. The slam echoed through the house and I could hear voices talking through my bedroom window.  
“Do you think we should wake him up?” Mom said and I heard Dad laugh.  
“He needs all the sleep he can get Casey, when he wakes up he’ll be packing up some of his room,” I heard Dad say and then the front door opened again. I groaned and rolled over, my back facing my bedroom door.  
After a few minutes of laying on my side I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. My room was east facing so soft white sunlight seeped in through my open window. Mom must have heard me because she opened my door and walked over to me.  
“Mornin’ Cas,” She said running her hands through me hair. I muttered a ‘morning’ back to her. “Once you’re up and running’ start packing’ up your room.” I nodded and she walked out of my room, shutting the door. My legs were sore and my head hurt, what a wonderful way to start the day.  
“Cas! The boxes are in the garage for you to start packing!” Dad shouted from the front door. I rolled my eyes and sighed.  
“Ok!” I snapped back but he was already out the door and walking down the driveway. The house was finally quiet as I walked down the hall and over to the bathroom. The light flickered to life and I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was a mess and I had red marks from my pillow on my left cheek. “I need a shower…” I muttered to myself, shut the bathroom door, and turned on the shower. The water was cold and I jerked my hand back after feeling it to get the right temperature. Once it was right I stepped in and the water covered me like a blanket.

When I stepped out of the shower I walked into a wall of steam. I wrapped a towel around my waist and opened the door to let all the steam out. Mom and Dad had gotten into an argument downstairs about what one had packed into a box. A pretty dumb argument in my opinion. Once I was dried off I pulled on my checkered shorts and a black Voltron shirt. The stairs squeaked as I walked down them, headed for the front door. Just as I rounded the corner and was about to step outside Dad walked right into me.  
“Ow what the heck,” I said rubbing my arm where he hit me.  
“Oh, sorry Cas. Didn’t see ya there,” He said, then picked up another box and walked back out the front door. I followed him out the door but walked into the garage instead of out to the driveway.  
“Ok, so how many boxes?” I muttered to myself as I grabbed two flattened down boxes and tucked them under my arm. Deciding that I only needed three I trekked back up the stairs and into my room. “So, smaller items first i’m guessing?” I started to pick up papers off my desk and put them into the box, throwing away the ones that I didn’t want anymore. I was amazed at how many junk papers I had on my desk. Old art, random notes, vents, and other random stuff.  
Eventually I got the top of my desk and some of my drawers all cleaned out and packed into boxes. “Ok so desk, check. Now time to explore the depths of my closet, yay,” I said and pulled over a half full box. “Clothes, clothes, and wow, some more clothes. I never wear these, why do I have them?” All of clothes that I never wore were all brighter colors. My face scrunched up as I pulled them out of the closet. I tossed them in the ‘get rid of’ pile.  
Once all of my clothes were pulled out and separated into three piles I started to pull out all the other crap that has managed to pile up on the floor. Shoes, photo albums my mom made, more papers, oh hey my old lunch box. Stuff just kept coming. Once half the closet was cleaned out I flopped down on the floor and stared up at the ceiling. It was a cream color and had glow in the dark stars stuck to it. After a few minutes of laying on the ground I sat up and got back to work.

“Cas! If you have anymore boxes ready to be put in the garage can you bring them down!” Dad hollered from downstairs.  
“Ok!” I yelled back and started to drag a box down the stairs. Every step I took the stairs creaked and the box made a loud ‘thud’ noise.  
“Where in the garage do I put it?” I asked Mom. She was standing in the doorway looking at the drive way muttering something to herself.  
“Um, when you walk in you’ll see some boxes in the corner stacked on top of eachother. Just put them over by those ones,”  
“Fair enough,” I said and dragged the box over to the others. I’m surprised the bottom of the box hasn't torn open yet.  
“Man when we get to California i’m just gonna lay down and sleep,” Dad said to Mom as they stood on the driveway and looked at all the boxes stacked up.  
“Yeah, once we load all the boxes inside and unpack them,” Mom said, smirking.  
“Don’t rain on my parade Casey,” Dad said smiling. I cringed and walked back inside to drag the rest of my boxes out.

It was about three in the afternoon when we decided to stop for the day, well, I stopped for the day. My stomach growled. I hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch but I didn’t care. “Mom! What day is it?” I yelled from the upstairs hallway.  
“Wednesday the eighteenth!” She called back and I groaned.  
“When are we supposed to be outta here?”  
“August thirty first!”  
I groaned and walked into my room. My bed was a mess and all kinds of trinkety stuff littered the floor.  
“I can’t wait for this to finally be over,” I muttered and my phone chimed. Looking at the notification I saw Jake had text me.

Jake: How’s summer treating you  
Cas: It sucks :(  
Jake: y  
Cas: Meet me at the park?  
Jake: Can’t, aunt and me r grocery shopping  
Jake: it’s boring here  
Jake: so y summer suck  
Cas: i would say dont get mad but ur gonna  
Jake: depends on what it is

I hesitated before I started to type.  
Cas: Im moving  
Jake: oh, that sucks where to?  
Cas: California  
I sighed when Jake didn’t respond. “This was a mistake,” I said and dropped my phone on the ground, thankfully the floors were carpet.

Jake: what do u mean ur moving to California???  
Cas: yea i’m pissed  
Jake: no shit sherlock  
Cas: aperantly my parents thought id be happier there  
Jake: im gonna be alone at school  
Cas: i think u should switch schools  
Jake: y  
Cas: cuz you live like sixteen miles away from school and u only go there cuz im there  
Jake: tru  
Cas: plus that school’s a crap school  
Jake: once again no shit sherlock  
Cas: doesn’t ur aunt see this  
Jake: she’s chill  
Jake: raised two boys  
Cas: makes sence  
Jake: alright welp i gtg  
Jake: I would say see you but i dunno if I can  
Cas: y?  
Jake: aparently my grandpa died somewhere in Illinois and we have to go up there  
Jake: I never met him so im not that sad  
Jake: its just kind of dissapointing cuz i never knew him  
Jake: u know?  
Cas: no i knew my grandpa even tho he died when i was ten  
Jake: alright then  
Cas: welp I guess see ya  
Jake: see ya Cas

I sighed and shut off my phone. I’m leaving behind the house i’ve lived in my entire life, my best and only friend, and the state that i’ve loved from day one. Even though it’s only three thirty I shut my eyes and went to sleep.  
~oOo~  
“Alright, kitchen, bathroom, and closet all packed,” Mom said downstairs. I sat up and walked down the hall and over to the staircase.  
“Why are you guys packing so much?” I asked sitting down on the top step.  
“We want to leave halfway through August that way you can go to orientation and be there for the first day of school in California,” Dad said walking out from the downstair bedroom.  
“Where exactly are we moving to?”  
“A city called Carpinteria. It’s in Southern California,” Mom said looking at some sticky notes on the wall.  
“Ugh we're gonna be around all those snobby California people,” I said rolling my eyes.  
“Yeah some of them are. Not a lot of them though, some people are actually really nice,” Dad said looking at a map.  
“Why the map?” I asked.  
“Looking for which route we should take,” He said pulling out a sharpie.  
“Ok have fun with that,” I said walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. “What to eat,” I muttered to myself and opened the fridge. “Leftover mac n’ cheese it is.” I pulled the container out and microwaved it for a minute. When the microwave beeped pulled it out and walked back upstairs to my room.  
“Make sure to bring that down when your done Cas! We don’t want ants!” Mom called up to me.  
“Ok,” I called back and shut my door. This move was gonna be the death of me. One part of my was pissed about having to move, I mean, who wouldn't? Another half of me was excited for some reason. I’ve heard the the weather in California is amazing. Warm and sunny. Here it was foggy a lot and then it was blazing hot in the summer.  
Once I finished my mac n’ cheese I put the bowl down on my now clean desk and closed the window, it was blowing cold air into my room. The sun was setting so the sky was an orange-ish color. The sunsets were amazing here. I would miss them.  
I would miss a few things from here. Obviously my house and friend but also things some people wouldn’t even think about. Like the sunsets, and the way the breeze had a forest like scent, the thunder storms, all those things. Maybe i’ll find things like that in California to.  
It’s a fresh start. Let’s not waste it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have never moved long distance before so I just based this off of how I've mover before so hopefully it doesn't suck that bad.¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> Hope ya liked it and happy summer to everyone!
> 
> Yobi, out!


	3. Last Week (no that's not a Tomska reference)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the family's last week in Georgia. Cas is not looking forward to moving, like any human being moving across the country who doesn't want to should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, i'm actually updating? Yep. this chapter mainly is just Cas and Jake texting back and forth so yeah. I wrote this while I was camping so I was exhausted writing this chapter. Hopefully it's ok for being written at midnight.

“It’s our last week here, Cas,” Was the first thing I heard when I came downstairs to grab something for breakfast. I sighed and rolled my eyes.  
“Wow thanks for that, that’s exactly what I needed to wake up to,” I said opening the pantry doors and decided on some pretzels. Dad sighed and walked over to the sink. He set his coffee cup down and turned to face me.  
“You can’t be mad at us Cas, were trying to pay off some debt, once it’s paid off we’ll come back and you can go back to school and see Jake again,” Dad said and I whipped around to face him.  
“Don’t you dare tell me I can’t be mad at you. You are the one’s making me move. You are the ones making me leave the only state I am familiar with, making me leave my best friend, and making me leave the only family that I know,” I said pointing at Dad. “Do not tell me how to feel.” And after I had said that I stormed back up into my room.  
“I hate them so much. I hate them. I hate them. I hate them,” I said and collapsed on my bed, well, a blow up air mattress. “Why the hell do we have to move?!” I yelled and looked around my room. All that was left was a couple bags of clothes that I was taking with me for the cross country drive and my bag of ‘stuff to do’. Aka stuff that will make me sick if I look at them for to long in the car.  
“Cas,” I heard Mom say my name as she opened the door.  
“What,” I said glaring at her.  
“You know there’s gonna be family in California right? You’re grandma, your Aunt Sophia and Uncle Blake, and their kids. Shannon, David, and Kelly,” Mom said and I groaned.  
“Shannon is a Junior in highschool, David is in fourth grade, and Kelly is three,” I said giving her a ‘duh’ look.  
“I know, but at least you won't be the only kid,” She said and I rolled my eyes.  
“Why are we moving again?” I asked and Mom sighed.  
“The company your dad works for had an open job in California and it paid higher than his current one. We thought if we saved up enough money we could buy a nice house there and with the money that you’re dad and I make, we could pay off some of the debt we have,” She said looking me straight in the eye. I nodded.  
“And you thought i’d be happy there?”  
“Well we knew you wouldn’t be thrilled but we thought maybe you’d like some parts of it. Maybe at least the weather,”  
“How big is the house?”  
“It’s bigger than this one, not super big, but it’s large enough for us,”  
“Ok, I still don’t care about it. Just leave me alone,” I said and Mom sighed. She looked hurt but left me alone anyways. I hated this. Why couldn’t we just stay here.  
I wonder if the school in, what was it, Carpinteria? I wonder if it will be like my school. Where bullying isn’t a ‘big deal’. Wonder what the kids’ll be like.  
Suddenly my phone dinged. I glanced at it and saw that Jake had text me.

Jake: so im just now realizing that ur moving to california  
Cas: yea  
Cas: did u not think about it when i told u  
Jake: i dunno i just kinda thought  
Jake: oh Cas is moving to california  
Jake: shit  
Cas: wat  
Jake: UR MOVING TO CALIFORNIA  
Cas: IK ur just figuring this out  
Jake: i dunno! I guess it was just ‘shock’ or some shit like that  
Cas: boi  
Jake: dont boi me, this is a huge change  
Cas: no shit sherlock  
Jake: u know wat i mean  
Cas: yea  
Jake: who the hell am i gonna be friends with  
Cas: i dunno ur a pretty likable person  
Cas: im sure u’ll make some friends  
Jake: it wont be the same  
Jake: everybody cries sad tears  
Cas: :(  
Jake: :’(  
Cas: dun cri  
Jake: make me  
Cas: hurricane are caused by gay sex  
Jake: holy shit Cas  
Cas: ur welcome  
Jake: u a gay boy  
Cas: HA GAYYY  
Jake: thats a dead meme  
Cas: no its not  
Cas: change my mind  
Jake: f u  
Cas: love u too  
Jake: ur so gay  
Cas: iTs A jOkE  
Jake: i KnOw  
Cas: iM nOt GaY  
Jake: i WoULdNt CaRe  
Cas: u such a good person  
Jake: ikr  
Cas: such a catholic boi  
Jake: im christian non practicing  
Cas: idc  
Jake: :(  
Cas: :)  
Jake: ur retarded  
Cas: i get it from my dad  
Jake: i can see that  
Cas: so my mom’s yelling my name  
Jake: gonna answer?  
Cas: i dont think so  
Jake: such a rebel  
Cas: imma bad boy  
Jake: far from it  
Cas: dont crush my dreams  
Jake: dreams are for the weak  
Jake: i have priorities  
Cas: even weaker

“Cas! C’mon! Bring your bags down and put them into the car!” Mom shouted from down stairs.  
“I’m talking to Jake!” I yelled back and I could hear her sigh.  
“Tell him that you’re doing something!”  
“I’m spending quality time with him!”  
“Quality time can wait!”  
“Im busy!”  
“Get your butt down here and bring your bags with!”  
I groaned and looked over at the bags.

Cas: imma bring my bags down to the car  
Cas: i can only take so much yelling  
Jake: alright  
Jake: welp ill see ya  
Cas: see ya

I sighed and sat up. “I hate moving,” The bags were kind of heavy and I half drug them downstairs.  
“Thanks Cas,” Dad said grabbing the bags from my hands. “I’ll put them in the car for ya.” he said walking out the front door.  
“Excited?” Mom said looking over at me. I rolled my eyes.  
“Thrilled,” I said crossing my arms. Mom frowned.  
“Why do you use so much sarcasm,” She said shaking her head.  
“Why not,” I said and turned around, headed back up to my room.

Cas: Back  
Jake: bored  
Cas: suck it up  
Jake: succ  
Cas: stahp  
Jake: wat time is it  
Cas: u have a clock on ur phone  
Jake: im lazy, dont u know this  
Cas: noonish  
Jake: boi how late do we sleep in  
Cas: late  
Jake: yea  
Cas: we havent even moved yet and im done with this  
Jake: i can only imagine  
Cas: imma go  
Cas: i feel like ‘sleeping’  
Jake: u already slept like six hours  
Cas: ive been up since eight  
Jake: u lazy  
Cas: no, i just dont want to be around my parents  
Jake:  
Jake: u lazy  
Cas: screw u  
Jake: sucks to suck  
Jake: bye Cas  
Cas: by

“Four more days,” I said rolling over on my back. “Hooray.” I looked out my bedroom window and sighed. Every direction that you looked all you could see were huge oak trees. The neighborhood always smelled of forest and during the winter it smelled like rain.  
I’m going to miss this place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter starts the drive cross country. That'll be fun to write.
> 
> Yobi, out!


	4. The Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas and his parents end up flying to California rather than driving. Cas couldn't be happier. On the plane he meets a boy who may just change his life forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said they would drive but I realized I've never driven cross country and have no clue how to write that. So their flying cross country, which I have done multiple times. So yeah, please take this chapter. The longest one I've ever written.

The last day in Georgia rolled around in no time flat. It’s amazing how fast four days can go by. This morning hadn’t even been that great either. Jake was in Illinois so he couldn’t come down to say bye so we talked over text.  
“Cas you have everything?” Dad called up from down stairs.  
“Yeah!” I yelled back and looked around my empty room.  
“Ok were leaving in five minutes!”  
“Yeah ok I get it!” I yelled back and I could hear him sigh.  
“Just be down soon!”  
I sighed and looked around my room for anything that I night have left behind. The only things we were leaving behind was my cat, he had died three years ago and we had buried him, duh and there were a couple of boxes that the people moving in had dropped off. Standing up I walked out of my room and closed my now painted white door. The floors creak as I walked down the hall and towards the stairs.  
It looked weird. I was so used to there being furniture everywhere and now it looked abandoned and empty. The house was actually clean for once. “Alright, ya ready to go Cas?” Mom asked opening the back door for me.  
“Yeah sure,” I said climbing into the car and moving stuff out of the way that way I could sit on the seat. After a minute or two Mom and Dad got into the car and we pulled out of the driveway.  
“Say by to the house Cas,” Dad said, talking to me in a baby voice.  
“Yeah ok, whatever you say,” I said pulling my phone and headphones out of the bag I packed for the car trip. Dad looked at me from the rearview mirror and I glared at him. He sighed, I put on my headphones, and chose a song.  
“Everything Black it is,” I muttered, pressing play on my playlist. We drove out of the neighborhood, down the street into town, then got on the freeway. “How long will the drive take?”  
“Only about an hour,” Mom said and I paused the video.  
“What do you mean an hour? I thought we were driving across the country,” I said and Mom looked over at Dad.  
“I thought you told him we’re flying,” He said and Mom shook her head.  
“No I told you to give him the heads up,” She said shaking her head.  
“Ok your dad messed up,” She said and Dad shook his head, sighing. “We’re flying across the country. The so called ‘drive’ was driving here and then figuring out what to do with the car. Speak to your father about the last part.” She said and I nodded, relieved that it would only be a few hours instead of a few days.  
The freeway was slow moving and every direction you looked there were cars. Just cars. It got boring looking out the window after a few minutes. Most of the cars had Georgia licence plates while a few cars had other states like Texas and Washington.  
Once we got closer to Atlanta the traffic became a nightmare. “God, does the traffic ever end?” Dad said trying to see past the truck in front of us.  
“We’re in Atlanta, it never ends,” I said, rolling my eyes. Dad muttered something under his breath, guaranteed about me, and I ignored him. It took more that a few minutes but we made it to the airport.  
“The parking garage is over there,” Mom said and Dad grumbled something back to her. We found a parking spot and Mom got all the passes fixed and handed out. Out of the three of us Mom had the most luggage, how surprising. I grabbed my backpack, slid it on, then grabbed my black suitcase. We walked out of the parking garage and waited for the lights to change so we could cross. After a few minutes they changed and we walked across the street along with like, twenty other people. It was kinda busy.  
Once we made it inside I just followed Mom. She’d traveled through this airport so many times she practically knew it by heart. We made it to the beginning of security and there was a short lady yelling something. I looked over at her and she couldn't have been taller than 5’1.  
“C’mon! Keep the line moving! Keep the line moving! Hey, you over there! Move up!” She was shouting and I started giggling. That’s not something you see everyday.  
“Cas, come on,” Mom said and I realized that we were at the front of the line. I handed Mom the papers she had given me earlier and she handed them to the man. He did whatever he needed to do and let us through. Up next was security. Great.  
“Ah security, the best part,” Dad said, sarcastic as always. We took off our shoes and all the crap that came when going through security.  
“Let your boy go first ma’am,” A women said motioning for me to walk through the metal detector. I walked through it, then Mom followed after me.  
“How ya doing?” She asked as we waited for Dad to go through.  
“Could be worse,” I said messing with my socks. Mom shrugged and then walked up to Dad.  
“Alright, let's get our stuff,” He said and we walked over to the conveyor belt, grabbing our stuff as it got spit out from the machine. I grabbed my backpack and suitcase along with the other stuff and found a bench. Thankfully I had decided to wear flip flops. I tossed my flip flops on the ground, slid them on, and waited for Mom and Dad to get their shoes on and gather their bags. They slid on their shoes, grabbed their stuff, and we walked down the busy walkways of the airport. Our terminal was halfway across the airport so Mom was shouting at us to not get seperated. Once we made it there Dad found us some seats and we sat down, keeping our luggage close.  
I pulled out my phone and checked my notifications. Typical stuff, daily music uploads, stuff from fandoms that i’m not apart of (sadly), and other dumb shitpost stuff. I settled to watch one of Jaiden’s videos.  
“Fricken heck it Scruffy! You can’t just jump out of a moving car!” I laughed as she yelled random things about her dog.  
“Whatcha watchin’?” Dad asked leaning over my shoulder, way past my ‘personal bubble’.  
“One of Jaiden’s videos,” I said pausing the video.  
“Why can’t I watch it?” He asked, semi serious.  
“Because you wouldn’t understand it unless I re wound it which I don’t feel like doing,” I said and he rolled his eyes.  
“Yeah ok, thanks for including your dad in your life,” He said sitting down next to Mom. I sighed and unpaused the video. Killing time to patent, something I lacked in. Mom and Dad were talking about flannel shirts. So they were playing that game. I decided to download some music for the flight since there would be no wifi, obviously. Scrolling down my music playlist, I made a list of songs to download.  
“Ghost Town, Drop It, Wonderland, Lone Digger, Can I Get A Witness, Breath, Grind Me Down,” I muttered, hoping no one heard me. Heading over to google I put in each of the urls and worked my magic. Soon, I had a couple hours worth of music. Sure it sucked up a crap ton of my phone's memory but i’ll delete them later.  
“Zone’s one and two, you are boarding now,” The lady at the desk said and I assumed that wasn’t us. We were flying third class. Not that I was complaining, we always flew third class. I didn’t really care.  
After a good twenty minutes to half an hour the lady said over the intercom that it was our turn to board. Us and many other people stood up and walked over to the hall where you board. Mom handed her our tickets and we walked down the gray connecter hall. Our footsteps echoed through it as we got closer to the plane’s door. There were two women helping people get on and one smiled at me as we walked past her.  
“So we’re seats, 36, 37, and 39?” Mom said as we slowly made our way down the tiny isle. People were lifting their bags into the compartments above the seats, elbows and butts everywhere. It wasn’t very fun getting to our seats. “What the heck do they mean 39?” She said as we walked up to where our seats were. Once we finally did, we gave our stuff to Dad and he tossed them into the storage compartments. Mom and I had the two outer seats while Dad had the aisle seat across from us.  
“It could be worse. I could be way down there,” He said gesturing to the way back of the poane.  
“I guess you’re right,” Mom said as we sat down. I took the middle seat and Mom had the aisle seat. There was a boy maybe a year older than me sitting in the window seat. He had blonde hair and pale skin. He looked over at me and smiled. I quickly looked away and I could hear him quietly laugh.  
“Alright, to Los Angeles we go!” Dad shouted a little to loud. A couple people looked over at us and I sighed. I tried to look out the window without seeming a bit, weird. The boy saw that I was trying to look out it and opened it a bit more so I could look out. He smiled at me and a small smile formed on my face. There were quite a few planes waiting to get into the skies too. Once everyone had settled down the pilots did whatever they needed to do before heading over to the runway.

After a couple minutes of waiting the plane had taken off and we were up in the air. My ears haven't adjusted yet so the world was a whole lot quieter. Mom and Dad were talking about airplane food or whatever across the isle and I rummaged through my backpack. Everything had been turned on airplane mode but I had downloaded music. Turning on my phone and grabbing my headphones, I opened my ‘photos’ app and scrolled down to downloads. Once I had found where they were saved I decided to play Ghost Town. It was a four to five hour trip to LAX and I wasn’t quite looking forward to it. Some kid was crying a couple rows in front of us and Mom and Dad, along with a few other people were whispering to each other about it.  
Finally the kid stopped losing his mind and everyone started to settle down. People had movies playing, some talked to whoever they were traveling with, and some flat out fell asleep. I peeked out the window. There were a lot of clouds so I couldn’t see the ground very well but what I could see were trees. Lots of trees. I never realized how many trees there were until now. Sighing, I rested my chin on my hand and continued to stare out the window. The boy was also looking out the window. He looked like he was straight outta California, at least from how tv portrays Californians.  
“Cas, do you want anything to drink?” Mom asked and I looked over at her. The flight attendants had started to hand out drinks and snacks.  
“Oh, us sure,” I said, “Can I have apple juice or something?” The lady nodded and handed me one of those apple shaped bottles. “Thanks.”  
“Why don’t you ask that boy if he wants anything?” Mom said and I sighed.  
“Hey, uh, do you want anything to drink?” I said and he looked over at me. I didn’t make eye contact with his but I could tell he was smiling.  
“Oh, I didn’t even realise that they had started handing out drinks,” He said looking from me to the lady. “Could I have some Sprite?” He said and the lady handed him a cup of Sprite. “Thanks.” She nodded and walked down the aisle to the rows in front of us. I opened the bottle and took a sip from it. Mom was watching whatever movies were available to watch and Dad was on his laptop guaranteed looking at something work related.  
“So what’s your name?” The boy asked and I looked over at him, not expecting the question. I took off my headphones and looked over at him.  
“Oh uh, I didn’t hear you,” I said not making eye contact.  
“That’s ok, I asked what your name was,” He said taking another sip of his Sprite.  
“Oh, Cas, what’s yours?” I asked fidgeting with my thumb.  
“Connor,” He said and I muttered his name under my breath.  
“I figured if we’re gonna be stuck on a five hour flight we might as well have someone to talk to,” He said and I smiled a bit.  
“I guess you’re right,” I said shrugging.  
“So, what’re some things that you like?” He said and I thought for a moment.  
“I like music, ya know, electro swing, chillstep, and some trap,” I said and Connor nodded.  
“I like music, Imagine Dragons are my favorite though,” He said and I nodded.  
“I would think you’d like Twenty One Pilots or something,” I said laughing a bit.  
“Yeah i’m not one of those crazy obsessed fangirls. I mean don’t get me wrong I like some of their songs but i’m not crazy obsessed,” He said and I laughed.  
“I like a few of their songs too,” I said smiling.  
“I’m gonna change the subject completely,” Connor said and I laughed again. He was actually really funny, and I don’t think he means to be.  
“Ok, hit me with it,” I said and he smiled.  
“So it’s August right?” He said and I nodded, confused on why the month matters. “So you know why June is significant right?”  
“Um, I don’t think so. It’s the first month of summer?” I asked and he laughed a bit.  
“It’s Pride Month,” He said and it clicked in my head.  
“Oh yeah, I forgot that June was Pride Month,” I said and he smiled.  
“Wait you’re not a homophobe or transphobe?” He asked and I shook my head.  
“There’s no reason to be a dick to people, especially if they're just being themselves,” I said and he smiled rummaging through his backpack.  
“You may not be apart of the community but here,” He said handing me a rainbow bracelet. It had stripes on it and was a half and inch wide. For some reason I was really happy he gave it to me.  
“It’s so pretty, thank you,” I said trying to tie it around my left wrist.  
“Here, lemme help you,” He said and I let him tie it. I spun it around my wrist and smiled. “I made them myself, whenever anyone is a straight allie, apart of the community, or just not a dick in general I give them one. It’s just kinda my thing,” He said and I nodded.  
“That’s a pretty cool thing to do,” I said finally looking him in the eyes. They were a beautiful blue-ish green color and if you looked close enough you could see little hints of gold. “Your eyes are pretty,” I said, my mouth moving faster than my brain. My face heated up and I covered my face with my hands, shaking my head. Connor laughed and gently pulled my hands away from my face. I looked at him and he smiled down at me, him being taller.  
“Don’t feel bad Cas, i’m glad you think my eyes are pretty,” He said and I smiled a bit.  
“You’re so much nicer than most people,” I said letting him continue to hold my hands.  
“You said it yourself, why be a dick to people if their just being themselves,” He said and I laughed.  
“Do you live in California?” I asked and he nodded.  
“I live in Santa Barbara County,” He said and I nodded.  
“I used to live in Georgia, um, where exactly is that?” I asked and he smiled.  
“Well, maybe this will help. Where are you guys staying? Maybe it’ll help if I can try to show you where it is compared to where you guys are staying,” He said and I nodded.  
“Car- Carpinteria? Yeah, Carpinteria,” I said and Connor’s face lit up.  
“Dude, I live like, fifteen minutes away from there!” He said smiling.  
“Wait, really?” I asked and he nodded.  
“God bless Southern California,” He said and I nodded. “Wait what’s your phone number? Maybe we could hang out, that is if it’s ok with you.” He said and I nodded. We exchanged phone numbers and I smiled.  
“I need a contact picture for you,”I said and he made a really weird looking face. “Works for me.” I said setting that as his contact picture.  
“I’ll text you when we land at the airport once we aren’t on airplane mode,” He said and I nodded.  
“So what’s your favorite book?” I asked and he thought for a second.  
“Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe,” He said and I nodded.  
“Never heard of it,” I said and Connor faked being offended.  
“It’s only the best book ever written. Aristotle, Arri, and his friend Dante basically go through highschool together and end up being gay for eachother,” He said and I rolled my eyes jokingly.  
“Why am I not surprised that’s you favorite book,” I said and Connor shrugged.  
“I’m predictable,” He said and I laughed.  
“Far from it,” I said and he shrugged.  
“In some ways I am and in some ways i’m not,” He said and I nodded.  
“So what were you doing in Georgia if you live all the way across the country?” I asked.  
“I have family back there. My grandma and her sister and a few cousins,” He said and I nodded.  
“My grandma, aunt, uncle, and their three kids live in California. They don’t live in Carpinteria but they live close by,” I said and Connor nodded.  
“Are they your age?” He asked and I shook my head.  
“Shannon is a junior in highschool, David is in fourth grade, and Kelly is three,” I said and Connor nodded.  
“That kinda sucks. My parents are divorced so half the time it’s just me, my mom, and older sister. My older sister is nineteen though and she always brings guys home. Don’t even get me started how many times i’ve walked in on her and whatever boyfriend she has starting to get frisky,” He said and I laughed while cringing.  
“Eww,” I said and Connor laughed.  
“It’s fun to tease her afterwards though. At least she’s a bit responsible though,” He said and I laughed once again.  
“My older brother left when I was seven to go to college. I haven’t seen him in five years though,” I said and Connor nodded.  
“My sister never wanted to go to college. She wanted to try to make a living off of being an artist but I haven’t really paid attention to how that’s working out for her,” He said unlocking his phone. He pulled up a few pictures of really pretty side tables and stuff. “She makes these all the time. She makes things as small as coasters to as large as wall decorations.” He said showing me a picture of these coasters that looked like abalone shells. “A lot of her art is inspired by the beach.”  
“I can see that. She’s really talented,” I said and Connor nodded.  
“She started making this in high school,” He said showing me a picture of him and who i’m assuming is his sister.  
“Are you good at art?” I asked and Connor smiled.  
“Nope, not an art bone in my body,” He said, not a care in the world. My mind started to wander for a few seconds. I thought about Jake and how he wouldn’t be back home for a few more weeks.  
“Do you have any friends?” I asked and Connor nodded.  
“Yep, three, and i’m really close to them. Adam and Mark are some of the best friends I could ask for,” He said showing me a picture of the three of them. They looked like good friends.  
“You guys look like good friends,” I said and Connor nodded.  
“I’ve known Mark since second grade and Adam since fifth,” He said and I twisted the bracelet around my wrist.  
“How many hours into the flight are we?” I asked and Connor checked the time.  
“Two hours, so about three to go if we’re lucky,” He said and I nodded, shutting my eyes. “Tired?” He asked and I nodded.  
“A bit, I slept like crap last night,” I said and he moved the armrest up that way we had more room to move.  
“I don’t mind if you fall asleep. I get not sleeping well,” He said and I nodded.  
“You’re really nice Connor,” I said and I could tell he was smiling as he ran his hand over the top of mine. He hummed some song as he messed with my fingers. I didn’t care though. It felt nice considering I have a bad habit of pushing back my cuticles. Slowly I started to drift off as he messed with my hand.

 

“Cas, wake up,” Connor said brushing my bangs out of my face.  
“Hm,” I said opening my eyes.  
“You were asleep for two and a half hours,” He said and I sat up. My head was on his shoulder and I looked up at him. “You started to lean a bit while you were sleeping so I let you sleep on my shoulder.” He said like it was nothing. Maybe it was to him.  
“How do I always manage to fall asleep?” I asked rubbing my eyes.  
“You fall asleep often?” He asked.  
“Eh, if I don’t want to deal with anyone anymore I just kinda push myself into sleeping,” I said and he nodded.  
“You sleep in school?”  
“Sometimes, the teachers didn’t care though,” I said and he looked amazed.  
“I wish I could sleep in school,” He said and I shrugged.  
“You kinda fail sometimes if you do that to often,” I said and he nodded.  
“You’re really interesting,” He said and I smiled.  
“First time anyone’s told me that,” I said looking away from him.  
“But you’re really cool! How could someone not like you,” He said and I frowned.  
“I was the kid to pick on at my school so maybe that’s a question for someone else,” I said and Connor looked shocked,  
“No way, you’re to good of a guy to be picked on,” He said and I smiled.  
“Heh, if only that were true,” I said and he suddenly hugged me.  
“You’re amazing Cas and don’t you ever forget that. You’re gonna kick ass at your new school and I know you’ll be an amazing friend,” He said and I looked him in the eyes as if they were going to save me from drowning.  
“You’re the best person I ever met,” I said and he smiled.  
“I’m glad I could be that person,” He said and we both laughed. The rest of the flight was pretty quiet between the two of us. A comfortable silence hung between us as we looked out the window and down at the streets of Los Angeles.

 

When we finally landed everyone started to get up the moment the seatbelt lights turned off. Connor and I stayed seated while we waited for the huge crowd to finally pass. We grabbed our luggage and walked off the plane and into the airport. Connor’s family was waiting for him at the baggage claim and I waited next to him while Mom and Dad searched for the buses to take up to our new neighborhood.  
“I have to go Cas,” Connor said and I frowned.  
“We can hang out sometime right? I can still text you?” I asked not wanting to let him go. He squeezed my hand and leaned down a bit his face inches from mine.  
“I promise you that we will hang out soon and I’ll show you the wonders of California,” He said before closing the space between us and gave me a quick kiss on my lips. “Bye Cas, I hope you get used to California easily. I love you.” He said and I smiled.  
“I love you too Connor,” I said and he smiled handing something to me. He walked away and over to his family. The way he said ‘I love you’ rang around in my head. My face was a bright pink color and I looked down at my hand. He had given me a ring with six hearts on it, each one a color of the rainbow.  
“Cas you ready to go?” Mom asked and I nodded, following them over to where the buses would be picking people up. As we stood there I saw a car drive by with the window down.  
“By Cas! Can’t wait to hang out sometime!” Connor yelled and I smiled waving back to him. I had put on the ring and as they drove away I could see he was wearing his too.

Maybe I don’t hate California as much as I thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cas has made it to California, now time to start the fun stuff :)

**Author's Note:**

> Well, it was one of my first attempts at this. Hopefully it turned out as good as I want it to! Anyways, I will try to update semi often but life gets in the way sometimes so yeah. Also, when his parents mention his aunt they don't know why he is living with her, they only know that he no longer lives with his parents. Hope you liked it and will stick around for more chapters in the future. And yes, I know Cas isn't exactly your typical sixth grade guy. That's why he struggles so much. Kids make fun of him for that and he has no clue why he is like that. Trust me, it'll get better.


End file.
